Sorry for the long first post, but I wanted to give all the info I have. If anyone can help me figure out what to do next, I'd really appreciate it.

We have a GE Monogram ZIS480 built in side-by-side fridge/freezer. Within the last couple of days we noticed that the freezer was running a lot but wasn't staying as cold as it should. The fridge is set at 37 degrees, and the freezer is set at zero. The fridge stays at 37, but the freezer is presently at 23. That's cold enough to freeze water, but some of the other things in there aren't frozen as solid as they normally would be.

I've checked several things, including:

Compressor seems to be running (and since fridge is cold, I presume it is).

Compressor fan is running.

I can't see the evaporator fan, but it appears to be running, as I can feel plenty of air moving through the vents in front of the evaporator.

The evaporator coil ices up after a while. It looks like a complete sheet of ice across the whole coil, though I have not taken the freezer apart enough to see the entire coil yet. I'm just looking at the part I can see through the vents in front of it (by sticking my phone in there and snapping a photo).

I've tried defrosting the evaporator with a hair dryer, but that doesn't solve it. (It does defrost it, but it still doesn't get cold enough).

I've checked that the freezer isn't overloaded and vents aren't blocked (I only see one vent at the bottom right of the freezer and it isn't blocked).

Today I got ahold of a service reference for it and checked the resistance of the defrost heater (38.5 ohms vs expected of 37), and the four thermistors. The thermistors read as follows:

I'm not really sure how to interpret the thermistor ranges -- the values I read on mine all fall within the ranges of the next higher and lower temperatures on the reference chart. So does that mean they're good?

Has anyone seen this scenario before (cold fridge, warm freezer)? What should I check next?

Update: I took everything out and took the covers off so I can see the evaporator fan. It is definitely running.

Also, I may just be imagining it, but it seems that if I have the door open for a while messing with it, the compressor will shut off and the coils will defrost. Then after a while it starts running again, but it still doesn't get cold enough. I'm going to let it run a while and then pull the top cover and see what that reveals.

I had the fridge repair guy over today. In my case he said there is a leak in the sealed system and we wouldn't recommend a repair.
The repair would be expensive (>$2000) and he warranty for the new parts are only 90 days. I am disappointed that I need a new fridge.
I have to sleep over this.
I am also thinking to get a smaller fridge (I don't really need 48" worth of fridge).
And change the cabinets to accommodate the smaller fridge and a little computer desk or something like that.

I guess that's what I'll have to do, though I'm not so sure there's a leak. I had to go do some other things today, so the fridge was left running all day, undisturbed. The freezer was 45 when I left, and the fridge was 37. When I got back, the freezer had dropped to 32, but the refrigerator had *risen* to 45. That's a new one.

The evaporator coils are *not* iced over now. I put the cover back on the evaporator fan before I left, but I didn't put all the screws back in so it wasn't very tight. I'll put the screws back in -- maybe I messed up the airflow -- and will see if it gets any better overnight. If not, looks like I'll have to make a call...

I had the fridge repair guy over today. In my case he said there is a leak in the sealed system and we wouldn't recommend a repair.
The repair would be expensive (>$2000) and he warranty for the new parts are only 90 days. I am disappointed that I need a new fridge.
I have to sleep over this.
I am also thinking to get a smaller fridge (I don't really need 48" worth of fridge).
And change the cabinets to accommodate the smaller fridge and a little computer desk or something like that.

I'm sorry to hear it. Such price for such job?! It's way to much! If they told you that the refrigerator has to be removed from the cabinet then it's a lie. Did you try to call GE authorized service?

I guess that's what I'll have to do, though I'm not so sure there's a leak. I had to go do some other things today, so the fridge was left running all day, undisturbed. The freezer was 45 when I left, and the fridge was 37. When I got back, the freezer had dropped to 32, but the refrigerator had *risen* to 45. That's a new one.

The evaporator coils are *not* iced over now. I put the cover back on the evaporator fan before I left, but I didn't put all the screws back in so it wasn't very tight. I'll put the screws back in -- maybe I messed up the airflow -- and will see if it gets any better overnight. If not, looks like I'll have to make a call...

Good luck! I hope your service company will be more knowledgeable and honest.

I hope so too. I took everything out of the refrigerator side as well and now the temperature on both sides is slowly rising. I wonder if it was really cooling at all, or just slowly stealing the cold from the frozen foods. I will call for service today.

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